Refrigerating apparatus



8 1935- v A. A. McCORMACK ETAL 2,010,924

R BFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed June 29, 1929 S-Sheets-Sheet l file WZIWMM;

abtozmq Aug. 13,1935. A. A. MCCORMACK ETAL 2,010,924

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed June 29, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 art vent,

Patented Aug. 13, 1935 PATENT OFFICE REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Alex A. McCormack and William W. Watt, Dayton, Ohio, assignors, by mesne assignments, to General Motors Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Application June 29, 1929, Serial No. 374,645

10 Claims. (01. 62-116) This invention relates to refrigerating apparatus and more particularly to a domestic mechanical refrigerator.

An object of this invention is to provide a refrigerator cabinet with a mechanical refrigerating system having a refrigerant line which may be easily removed and inserted in the cabinet.

Another object of this invention is to provide a refrigerator cabinet with a mechanical refrigerating system which may be easily removed, particularly from the front of the cabinet.

Further objects and advantages of, the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a cabinet embodying features of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of a part of the cabinet shown in Fig. 1 with an outer panel removed;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal cross-sectional view taken along the line 33 of Fig. 2 in which the finishing strips of the door jamb have been removed;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing the finishing strips in place;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged elevation of a portion of a door jamb; and

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 1 of a slightly modified form of this invention.

A cabinet embodying features of this invention is generally designated as 20. It may be provided with a food storage compartment generally designated as 2| and a machinery compartment generally designated as 22. The food storage compartment may have placed therein a cooling unit generally designated as 23, and the machinery compartment may have means or a device 24 for circulating refrigerant in the cooling unit. A refrigerant line 25 may be provided for circulating the refrigerant between the cooling unit 23 and the means 24.

In general, the refrigerating system may be installed in the cabinet at the factory, or the cabinet and the refrigerating system may be shipped separately and the system may then be installed in the cabinet at the place of use. In either case any suitable refrigerating system may be used. For instance a refrigerating system as described in the application of Harry B. Hull, Serial No.

281,611, filed May 30, 1928 may be used. This type of system is adapted to be completely assembled as far as the refrigerating system itself is concerned independently of the cabinet and then the system may be installed in the cabinet at any convenient place. Thus the cooling unit and the means for circulating the refrigerant may be connected by the refrigerant line either before the system is inserted into the cabinet or after such 5 insertion. The specific example herein shown differs from the example in said application in that both the cooling unit 23 and the means 24 may be inserted through the front door openings.

According to this invention the refrigerant line I may be placed where it is easily accessible, and may be easily inserted in the cabinet or removed therefrom. As a specific embodiment the food storage compartment 2| may be provided with a rectangularly shaped door opening formed by :5 two frame-like vertical members 30 and two horizontal members 3! and 3|a placed longitudinally along the edges of the door opening. These frame-like members form the door jamb of the door opening. If desired, the machinery compartment also may be provided with a door opening. The frame-like member 31a may form part of the door jamb of the food storage compartment 2i and also of the machinery compartment 22 and in this case is below the food compart- 25 ment. The machinery compartment 22 may have two vertical frame-like members 33 and one horizontal member 34 completing the door jamb of the door opening. Suitable doors 35 and 36 may be hinged to the cabinet for closing the door 30 openings of the two compartments. In addition, if desired, the rear of the machinery compartment may be provided with an opening 31 for the circulation of air into and out of the machinery compartment.

The opening 31 is generally placed about 1%; inches from a wall of the room, which allows the necessary air circulation. One of the frame members may be provided with a passage for the refrigerant line. This passage may be formed by providing a longitudinal notch 40, which may be covered by a finishing strip 4| constructed of wood or any other suitable insulating material placed along one of the inner edges of the door jamb. Another of the frame-like members, for instance member 3|a, may be provided with a transverse passage 42 for the refrigerant line, and this passage may be formed by a notch which may be covered by the metallic panel or finish strip 43 forming part of the outer casing or exterior metal finish members of the cabinet. Thus the refrigerant line extends from the cooling unit 23 longitudinally along the passage in one of the frame members. along another passage transverse to another of the frame members and into the machinery compartment to the means for circulating the refrigerant. The refrigerant line may be inserted or removed merely by removing the finishing strip 4|, a similar finishing strip 45 at the bottom of the door opening, and the front metallicpanel or finish strip 43.

The cabinet may be constructed in any suitable manner and may, for instance be constructed as disclosed in the application of Henry P. Braeutigam and William C. Holbrook, Serial No. 257,989, filed February 29, 1928, with the exception that, if desired, only one door for the food compartment may be used.

The cabinet may include insulation outside of the compartment 2|, preferably made of boards of rock cork or cork board secured to the lining of the compartment 2| with bituminous cement. The outer casing of the cabinet may be of sheet steel with a protective covering of porcelain enamel, paint etc., and may include side panels 8|, a rear panel 82, two front panels 83 having flanges 84. If desired corner strips may cover the edges of adjacent panels. The removable metallic panel or finish strip 43 may have a flange 86 which is separated from-flange 84 by a flexible strip 81 so as to form a continuation of the sheet metal exterior finish members on the cabinet along the front of the food compartment.

The refrigerating system may be of the type disclosed in the said application of Harry B. Hull,

Serial No. 281,611. More specifically it may in-' clude a compressor 50 discharging compressed refrigerant into the condenser 5|, and from thence into a liquid refrigerant receiver 52. From thence the-liquid refrigerant may be delivered by a branch 53 of the refrigerant line 25 to the cooling unit 23. The cooling unit may be provided with means for extending the refrigerant, such as an expansion valve 54, and the expanded refrigerant may be returned by the branch 55 of the refrigerant line 25 to the compressor 58. The

compressor 5|! may be driven by an electric motor 56 through the medium of a belt 51. The motor 56 may be started and stopped in accordance with conditions in the refrigerating system. For instance, it may be started and stopped by a thermostat 58 placed adjacent and secured to the cooling unit 23. The thermostat 38 -may be connected by meansof an easily removable plug 59 with an electric line 60 connected by another easily removable plug 6| with the motor 56. Thus if it is desired to remove the refrigerating system from the cabinet, the plugs 59 and 6| may be removed from their respective connections and thereafter the refrigerating system may be removed by disconnecting the cooling unit from its supports in the cabinet and by removing the platform 62 of the means for circulating the refrigerant and by removing the finishing strips 4| and .45 and the panel 43. If desired the electric line 60 may pass through an opening 63 in the lining ,64 of the food storage compartment and may then pass along the outside of the lining 54 through a suitable opening 65 into the machinery compartment as shown. In order to maintain the refrigerant line in proper condition for handling, a portion thereof may be covered by a tube or conduit 66 in order to form the two branches of the line into a single unitary section for insertion into the passageways heretofore described.

In the modification shown in Fig. 6 the cooling unit 23a may be of the flooded type and thus the patent to R. G. Osborn No. 1,556,708 patented Oct. 13, 1925. It may also include sleeves 231) within the loops 'II for reception of ice trays 230. A porcelain enameled plate 23d may be carried by the sleeves 23b for enhancing the appearance of the cooling unit. The refrigerant line 25a may include a liquid refrigerant branch 53a and an evaporated refrigerant branch 55a. The control for the motor 56a.may be by means of a switch 12 responsive to pressures in the branch 55a thus a tube I3 may lead from the branch 55a. to an expansible bellows, not shown, operating a snap switch, not shown, which controls the starting and stopping of the motor 56a in accordance with the pressures in the branch 55a. Thus in this modification it is not necessary to provide an electric line from the cooling unit to the means for circulating refrigerant.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed, constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet provided with a food storage compartment, a door opening in the food storage compartment, a door jamb along the door opening in the food storage compartment having a vertical member, a cooling unit in said food storage compartment, means for withdrawing heat from said cooling unit by the circulation of a refrigerant, a refrigerant line connecting said unit and said means, a groovein an inner side of said vertical member of said door jamb for said refrigerant line.

2. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet provided with a food storage compartment, a door opening in the food storage compartment, a door jamb along the door opening in the food storage compartment having a vertical member, a cooling unit in said food storage compartment, means for withdrawing heat from said cooling unit' by the circulation of a refrigerant, a refrigerant line connecting said unit and said means, a groove in an inner side of said vertical member of said door jamb for said refrigerant line, and a cover for said passage to conceal said refrigerant line.

3. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet having a food storage compartment, a rectangularly shaped door jamb for said food storage compartment including frame-like members placed longitudinally along the edges of said rectangularly shaped door jamb, a cooling unit in said food storage compartment, means outside of said food storage compartment for removing heat from said cooling unit by the circulation of a refrigerant, a refrigerant line connecting said cooling unit and said means, a groove extending longitudinally along an exposed inner side of one of said frame-like members in which said refrigerant line is positioned, and a cover for said groove to conceal the refrigerant line.

4. A refrigerator box for a self contained refrigerating system including an evaporator and an apparatus, said box having adjoining evaporator and apparatus compartments, as well as a door opening providing entrance to said evaporator compartment, a heat sealing trim about the the opening comprising said entrance, and a. conduit formed in that portion of the vertical wall which faces the door opening and beneath said trim and extending from the apparatus compartduit means connecting said apparatus to said evaporator in such a manner that upon the removal of the trim over said conduit an open storage compartment, a door opening for said food storage compartment, a door lamb along said door opening, and said door lamb including a vertical member having a passage provided along the inner side thereof for the reception of a refrigerant conduit of the refrigerating system.

6. A refrigerator cabinet adapted to have a closed refrigerant circulating system installed therein, said cabinet being provided with a food storage compartment, a door opening for said food storage compartment, a door jamb along said door opening, said door jamb including a vertical member having a passage provided along the inner side thereof for the reception of a refrigerant conduit of the refrigerating system, and means for covering the passage to conceal the refrigerant conduit.

7. A refrigerator cabinet adapted to have a closed refrigerant circulating system installed therein, said cabinet being provided with a food storage compartment and a machinery compartment, a door opening for said food storage compartment, a door opening for said machinery compartment, a door jamb along the door opening in the food storage compartment, a door jamb for said machinery compartment, said door jarnbs having a common horizontal member, the door jamb along the door opening in the food storage compartment including a vertical member having a groove provided along the inner side thereof for the reception of a refrigerant conduit of the refrigerating system, and said common horizontal member of said door jambs also having a groove provided along the front side there-. of for the reception of the refrigerant conduit.

8. A refrigerator cabinet adapted to have a closed refrigerant circulating system installed therein, said cabinet being provided with a food storage compartment and a machinery compartment, a door opening for said food storage compartment, a door opening for said machinery compartment, a door lamb along the door opening in the food storage compartment, a door iamb for said machinery compartment, said door jambs having a common horizontal member, the

door jamb along the door opening in the food storage compartment including a vertical member having a groove provided along the inner side thereof for the reception of a refrigerant conduit of the refrigerating system, said common horizontal member of said door lambs also having a groove provided along the front side thereof for the reception of the refrigerant conduit, and means for covering the grooves to conceal the refrigerant conduit.

9. A refrigerator cabinet adapted to have a closed refrigerant circulating system installed therein, said cabinet being provided with a food storage compartment, a door opening for said food storage compartment, a door jambalong said door openings, said door jamb having a groove provided along the front surface thereof for the reception of a refrigerant conduit of the refrigerating system, and a finish strip removably retained on the front surface of said door jamb in such manner as to conceal the refrigerant conduit of the refrigerating system and to constitute a continuation of the cabinet exterior walls along the front of said compartment.

10. In combination, a refrigerator cabinet provided with a heat insulated compartment having sheet metal exterior members therearound, a cooling unit of a refrigerating system removably positioned in said compartment, the refrigerating system including a heat dissipating unit removably mounted adjacent to said compartment, a conduit connecting said units and extending through an open sided slot in. one wall of said compartment, a packing member surrounding said conduit, and a metallic finish strip removably retained on the front edge of said wall in such manner as to conceal said conduit and said packing member and to constitute a continuation of the sheet metal exterior cabinet finish members along the front surface of said compartment.

ALEX A. McCORMACK. WILLLAM W. WA'I'I'. 

